Light Her Path

A History of Giving Has Shaped SCEGGS

The ethos of a school threads its way through generation after generation, shaped and enhanced by small and large actions, by the character of its leaders and by the contribution of its community.  The Light Her Path Capital Campaign is an opportunity for the current SCEGGS community to strengthen and build the character of our school and its story.

Recently, one of the many old girls involved in the Light Her Path Capital Campaign recalled attending a school function with her father in her final year at SCEGGS.  With only months until she was finished and away, she was surprised to see her father, always prudent in his finances, pull out his cheque book and make a generous donation to the school.  When she commented, he replied that she had benefitted enormously from the resources of the school and it was their obligation to make the same provision for future generations. 

Readily assuming this obligation is a strong trait in the SCEGGS community and integral to the school’s ethos.  The die was cast with the initial donation that enabled the school to open and grow, and then to find a permanent home in Forbes Street.  Its qualities of inclusion and diversity were established when old girls stepped forward to fund the first scholarships soon after the school’s foundation. 

Generations of parents and old girls have embraced the obligation and forged the school’s place as an important pillar of girls’ education, contributing to buildings and ensuring the school’s survival in the darkest of hours.  These experiences have woven strands of resilience and creativity into the culture of the school community and the education it imparts.

Throughout SCEGGS’ history, there have been capital campaigns of one sort or another.  This century, campaigns have contributed to the building of the Barbara Chisolm Primary School, the provision of Indigenous scholarships and the opening of the Joan Freeman Science Arts and Technology Centre.  All of these initiatives contribute to the SCEGGS education that girls enjoy today and to its ethos, which is instilled alongside the privilege of that education.

The Light Her Path Capital Campaign is the current SCEGGS community’s opportunity to enhance the capacity of the school to prepare the women and leaders of tomorrow.  It is also our opportunity to sustain the school’s ethos of obligation, inclusion, diversity, resilience and creativity; our moment to be the example we would be pleased to see reproduced in our family.

The campaign is seeking to raise $20 million:

• $12 million this year to ensure we can bring the new designs for Wilkinson House, melding heritage and function, to life
• a further $8 million to expand SCEGGS’ scholarship program from the 35 girls currently supported by means-tested scholarships.

We invite every person in our community to give as generously as they can.

See the proposed plans for Wilkinson House on our website.  You may also pledge to the Light Her Path Capital Campaign or call the SCEGGS Development Office on (02) 9332 1133.

The Light Her Path Committee